holy order

holy order also Holy Order

n. Ecclesiastical

1. The sacrament or rite of ordination. Often used in the plural.

2. The rank of an ordained Christian minister or priest. Often used in the plural.

3. See major order.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	Holy Order - (usually plural) the status or rank or office of a Christian clergyman in an ecclesiastical hierarchy; "theologians still disagree over whether `bishop' should or should not be a separate Order" Order acolyte - someone who assists a priest or minister in a liturgical service; a cleric ordained in the highest of the minor orders in the Roman Catholic Church but not in the Anglican Church or the Eastern Orthodox Churches anagnost - a cleric in the minor orders of the Eastern Orthodox Church who reads the lessons aloud in the liturgy (analogous to the lector in the Roman Catholic Church) deacon - a cleric ranking just below a priest in Christian churches; one of the Holy Orders ostiarius, ostiary, doorkeeper - the lowest of the minor Holy Orders in the unreformed Western Church but now suppressed by the Roman Catholic Church exorcist - one of the minor orders in the unreformed Western Church but now suppressed in the Roman Catholic Church lector, reader - someone who reads the lessons in a church service; someone ordained in a minor order of the Roman Catholic Church priest - a clergyman in Christian churches who has the authority to perform or administer various religious rites; one of the Holy Orders subdeacon - a clergyman an order below deacon; one of the Holy Orders in the unreformed western Christian church and the eastern Catholic Churches but now suppressed in the Roman Catholic Church status, position - the relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a society; "he had the status of a minor"; "the novel attained the status of a classic"; "atheists do not enjoy a favorable position in American life"
	2.	holy order - the sacrament of ordination ordinance, ordination - the act of ordaining; the act of conferring (or receiving) holy orders; "the rabbi's family was present for his ordination" sacrament - a formal religious ceremony conferring a specific grace on those who receive it; the two Protestant ceremonies are baptism and the Lord's Supper; in the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church there are seven traditional rites accepted as instituted by Jesus: baptism and confirmation and Holy Eucharist and penance and holy orders and matrimony and extreme unction